Since 2009, Venezuela's National Assembly chamber had been closed to journalists during sessions. That changed on Jan. 5 when, after a six-year absence, media workers from national and international press outlets were allowed inside to cover the swearing in of members of the country's new legislative body. Read more »

Deadly violence against journalists in Latin America has continued to grow this year, with four countries from the region making the Committee to Protect Journalists' (CPJ) list of deadliest countries for journalists in 2015.Read more »

Police are investigating the murder of radio host Luiz Manoel Souza, 48, who was killed on Dec. 7 in a rural area of Ubá after being shot by a group of men. The group, at least some of them driving in a truck, first confronted him as he was in his car. The men shot at his car and tires, forcing Souza to flee to a wooded area, which is when he was shot. Read more »

A number of Mexican journalists, newspapers and media outlets recently sent a formal declaration to the government of Veracruz denouncing alleged police violence against journalists while they were covering teacher protests on Nov. 21 and 22.

In the document, they condemned the actions of the Secretariat of Public Security (SSP for its acronym in Spanish) and demanded the government guarantee journalists’ physical safety. Read more »

Two people on a motorcycle fatally shot 30-year-old Brazilian blogger Ítalo Eduardo Diniz Barros on Nov. 13 in Governador Nunes Freire in Maranhão state. A friend with Diniz was also shot, but survived, according to G1.

Military police confirmed that Diniz had received threats for publications made to his blog, G1 reported. Read more »

Early in the morning on Nov. 10, an unidentified man shot community radio journalist Israel Gonçalves Silva inside a store in Lagoa de Itaenga in Pernambuco state. The journalist had just dropped his children at school. Reports say the man fled via motorcycle without taking anything. Read more »